The U.S. Department of Transportation announced an application process to distribute $2.4 billion in high-speed rail funds on March 11, 2011. The Notice of Funding Availability includes $1.6 billion in high-speed rail funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and $800 million appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act.

Note: This application was originally intended to study to study high-speed rail from Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex to Houston, but was modified by permission of the Federal Railroad Administration when Texas Central Railroad stepped forward and agreed to pay for the cost of studying the corridor from Dallas to Houston. The funding originally intended for the study was modified, and approximately $6.7 million has been allocated for the Dallas-Fort Worth Core Express project environmental study, with the balance held in reserve for that corridor.